Car seal



March 16 1926.

J. SELINE Er AL CAR SEAL Filed June 9 1 A wifilwi I WITNESS: I ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 16,1926

JOHN snmun Ann ALBnnrjnuNcAN rnnenson, or. CALGARY, ALBERT CANADA.

CAR SEAL.

Application filed June 9,

To all Q0710? it may concern e it known. that we, JOHN Sm rna and ALBERT D. Fnnouson, citizens of Canada, residing at Calgary, in the Province of Alberta and Dominion of Canada, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car Seals, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to seals used on freight cars and the like and has for its object the provision of a novel seal so constructed, arranged and inscribed as to disclose any tampering by thieves.

It is well known among railroad people that thieves exercise great ingenuity in tampering with car seals in such a way that the inspectors checking up on the car seals in freight yards, stations and the like, cannot tell whether or not the seal has been tampered with and the car pilfered. The great disadvantage is that there is no way of ascertaining in what division of the railroad or at what station or yard the robbery was committed, a fact which is a great aid to the thieves. Certain railroads have adopted a well known type of seal known as the Tyden which possesses many advantages and which can be tampered with only by destroying one section and replacing it with a corresponding section from a discarded seal. However, thieves do successfully remove seals of this type, pilfer cars and make the seal apparently as good as new by employing a new part which is ap-' plied to the undestroyed portion of the original seal.

Vith the above facts in view we have invented a seal of the Tyden type or have modified the Tyden seal to defeat the activities of pilferers, by employing a numerical system of marking upon the seal strip and also upon both sections of the seal itself whereby mutilation of one section and replacement thereof by anew section will be at once visible owing to the lack of harmony between the numbers or owing to the lack of numbers on a replacement part.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a Tyden seal constructed in accordance with our invention.

Figure 2 is an elevation at right angles to Figure 1.

Figure 3 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring m re p rticularly to the drawii;

is a detail section on the line 1924. Serial No. 718,993.

I ings "the letter A designates a seal strip which has its ends B brought together in overlapped relation and means, not shown, enclosed within a seal or seal housing including cupshaped sections G and D crimped together at E and incapable of movement, as a unit, along the strip A. In tampering with a seal of this character, a thief mutilates the section D by means of pliers or some other tool and tears it open so that its crimped edge is disengaged from the crimped edge of the section C. The internal mechanism, not shown, is then manipulated to permit the strip A to be withdrawn so that access may be had to the car. After the thieving operations have been completed, the strip A is replaced within the section 0, the interior mechanism locked and the mutilated section D replaced by a new section. Such additional sections are readily obtainable from discarded or broken seals so that there is no difficulty about their being obtained by thieves.

From the above it appears that ordinarily there is nothing to disclose to an inspector that a car has been broken into and an entire run may be made Without the theft being discovered until the train reaches its ultimate destination, a fact which hinders the apprehension ofthe marauders.

Considering the above facts, we have carrying securing adopted an identification system which involves the use of a serial number 10 formed in the strip A by stamping the material thereof, which serial number is intended to be chosen in conformity with certain rules as to railroad divisions, places or the like. Ve also inscribe both sections G and D of the seal with numbers indicated at 11 and 12 respectively, which numbers are identical and which have a certain definite relation to the serial number 10. In the present instance, the numbers 11 and 12 are represented as consisting of the first and last three numerals of the serial number.

Assuming that our identification system is in use it is quite clear that an inspector checking up on the car seals would at once notice the lack of a number on the section D or a disagreement between this number and the number on the section C. If a thief should replace both cap sections C and D and both should be inscribed with corresponding numbers, it would still beimpossible forthe thief to have in his possession such 7 a complete assortment which woulii match or conform to the serial number on the strip. In every event then it is obvious that tampering will be readily detected so that the inspector will know in what section or cli- VlSlOD of the road, or at what place the robbery was committed and this will naturally,

assist in bringing the criminals to justice.

lVe claim z- An improvement in car seals of the type including a seal strip and joined sealed sections thereon, consisting in the application to the strig of a serial number and the ap- In testimony whereof We aflix our signatures.

JOHN SELINE. ALBERT D. FERG FSON. 

